The New England Patriots will open the 2013 season on the
road against Buffalo, and then close it by playing host to the Bills.

The rest of the season will unfold between those dates, with
five of the biggest games taking place in prime time. New England opens Week 2
with a Thursday night game against the Jets, then goes to Atlanta two weeks later
for Sunday Night Football.

Coming out of a Week 10 bye, the Patriots have consecutive
prime-time games, first a Monday night date against Carolina and then at home
against Wes Welker and Denver Broncos. Things
come to a crescendo with a Week 16 Sunday night game against the defending Super
Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens.

The schedule also lines up so that Tom Brady could potentially
tie Drew Brees' record of 54 consecutive games with a touchdown pass at home
Week 6 against the New Orleans Saints. Brady is currently second on the list
with 48 such games.

Based on 2012 records, New England has 14th
hardest schedule in the NFL. Last season, when they went 12-4 and advanced to
the AFC title game, the Patriots were considered to have the easiest schedule
in the league.

Things appear to lineup favorably throughout the season. The
bye lines up nicely in Week 10, giving New England time to rest before heading
into one of the more meaty stretches of its schedule with games against
Carolina, Denver and Houston to follow. The Panthers may not draw much
excitement, but it will give New England additional time to prepare for mobile
quarterback Cam Newton.

The weather outside of that at Gillette Stadium also should
not play a major factor down the stretch. The Patriots four road games after
October come in Carolina, Houston, Miami and Baltimore.

As far as scheduling, the hardest stretch comes at the
beginning of the season with two games smashed into a five-day window. However,
preparations are made easier with Tampa Bay and New York facing each other Week
1.

The Patriots would also likely prefer to have a full week to
prepare for Denver, but will do so on short rest. The Broncos will enter the
game after having played the Kansas City Chiefs.

New England does not have a game against the Indianapolis
Colts after having played them in each of the last 10 seasons.